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Female officers with Norfolk Police who were sexually assaulted by a male doctor during their recruitment medical examinations were let down by a "superficial investigation" which saw their abuser escape conviction for two decades, a report has said.

Dr Hugh O'Neill pleaded guilty at Norwich Crown Court in 2016 to 13 counts of indecently assaulting 13 female police officers while in his role as the medical adviser for Norfolk Police between 1991 and 2003.

He was jailed for an additional three years, having already been sentenced in 2015 to 12 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of two girls aged under 14.

A number of female police officers had alleged in 1993 that they were
indecently assaulted by O'Neill during their recruitment medical examinations, but these allegations were not criminally investigated.

Further allegations were made in 2002 and O'Neill was suspended. He left the force in 2003, but escaped prosecution until further allegations made in 2014 led to prosecution and conviction.

Following O'Neill's conviction in 2016, Norfolk Police requested that the
investigations into the 1993 and 2002 allegations were reviewed.

An investigation was completed by the Essex and Kent Police Serious Crime Directorate this year.

Its report concludes that the 1993 victims were "badly let down by the
superficial investigation and their evidence was not properly gathered and no criminal investigation ensued".